Sunday, July 12, 2009

Pine Straw to Plants part 2

By Skeeter

Today will be part two continuing from yesterdays post about the new area I am creating in my Georgia Garden. Yesterday, I showed you the Heuchera (Coral Bells), Spider plants, Black Elephant Ears and Hosta. Today we shall move to the right of that area to another spot where I have a little Rock Garden started.
Here you can see several different plants. To the top of this picture, you can see the post of my two water gauges. I rely on these to keep me informed of the rain fall when I am away from the garden or sleeping with rainfall during the night. I have formed this Rock Garden by the rain gauges to make them not so noticeable as they are not real pretty gauges. That is a big trick for me in the garden, disguise the ugly things with beautiful things. Remember my boat shed, air conditioner unit, propane gas tank? LOL...
Moving in for a closer look, you can see the focal point being a bit of Whimsy. These turtles are busy taking care of the garden with their shovel and rake. Right behind them are Elvis the Hosta I talked about last year. Click Here to see that if you missed it. I had two Elvis but one was over come by either a Vole or Drought. I was able to salvage the one and baby it back to life this spring. The picture above was taken before Elvis was blooming for me. However the Catmint to the right was blooming and attracting bees and butterflies by this time. I had to rescue the Catmint as well last year. Here you see the Catmint blooms. I think they are such pretty little blooms. Thank goodness for the zoom lens!

There is Elvis in all his glory a bit later then the other picture was snapped. This picture was snapped today, being July 1 so he should be about played out by the time this goes to posting. He sure does have longevity in the blooming department though as he blooms longer then any hosta I have had.
As you can see in this picture, the Catmint has turned yellow on me. They are not in the ground as they are in pots buried in the ground instead. I told you about the soggy conditions we had this spring. I need to put it into the ground now that the area has dried. Elvis will remain in his pot as the Vole will destroy him for sure if he is in the soil.
Here is a new addition in my garden this year. I found "Armada Rose Sea Thrift" on the Bargain Bin for a dollar each. I picked up 4 to place in between the Rocks which I picked up for free at the lake.
I found them on the Bargain Bin in late spring so I was only able to enjoy a few blooms such as this one. Hopefully, they will give me plenty of blooms next spring.
Another new addition is "Cooper's Ice Plant". The Saint spotted these and really liked them. We picked up 2 one-gallon pots at $2.98 each. They are spring bloomers also but we found them early therefore, we enjoyed some late blooms from them.
The foliage is interesting. It looks like a succulent but it is not. It is a ground cover which likes some sun and where they are located, they get some sun. I hope it will be enough as we really do like this plant and the blooms.
Look at the foliage a bit closer. I think it looks like an Aloe Plant!
And Purple blooms. I can't get enough of purple blooms as they are my favorite color of flower.
Now what is that plant called. That is OJ the neighbors kitty coming to visit me in the garden. He likes where I placed this one flat rock. He thinks it was put there for him to perch himself. He is my buddy so I let him stay put. What is that plant in front of him you ask?
Well, that would be Speedwell. Not the speedwell I am use to seeing but "Speedwell Veronica Waterperry Blue". This is a ground cover as well which has tiny blue blooms. I have yet to see the blooms but at $1.00 each, I am not complaining. They will give us blooms at some point. I hope anyway...

Pentas is not a new addition in my garden but I did not have any of the annuals last year. I did not find them last year but I did this year. I really do like this flower as it attracts the Hummingbirds and Butterflies. They give blooms from spring until frost and don't require much attention from me. My kind of flower! I found these 3 for a super bargain price of .25 cents each! They had to be mislabeled as the remainder of the rack were not priced at a quarter each! My lucky day...
The blooms are clustered and so awesome. They come in different colors but this bargain find were pink. I like Pink in the garden and at that price, I would get them no matter what color they were.
I planted the 3 Pentas behind the rain gauges. They will get taller and help to hide the poles of the rain gauges.
OJ, get off the Speedwell and back on your rock okay? Be a good boy and not a pain in the you know what. Well, there you have it, a new area being created with bargain finds at a slow pace. I hope all will fair as this area does get really soggy with rain.

I also found 2 Lantana plants at $1.00 each but I don't have a picture with them in it. They are to the very front of this Rock Garden area. They were small when I purchased them and without a tag. I had no idea what color they were but to my luck, they are the multi orange, red, yellow ones! Ah, perfect as they are my favorites.
As you can see even though I have a good start here, I have lots more room to go from PINE STRAW TO PLANTS, In the Garden...

21 comments:

  1. You are such a thrifty shopper Skeeter! I like those pentas the best on this post I think. OJ is too sweet. Every garden for sure needs a cat.

    Everyone have a super day!

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  2. My kitty woke me up with meowing this morning. She forgot it is Sunday and the Saint does not have to get up for work. She is a good alarm clock but how do I turn her off on the weekends? lol, Since I was up, I decided to check to see if this post went as scheduled as they have not been posting by themselves. I was happy to see it posted on its own, then over to comments and there is one from Tina. Hum, now I wonder did this post go as scheduled or did Miss Tina help it out? lol... Tina, if you helped it out, thanks!

    Everyone have a good day! I am back to bed to snuggle a bit more with my Saint, that is, if Cheetah will allow me. Maybe we should not have stayed up watching movies until the wee hours of the morning…

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  3. OJ looks alot like Chester, Phillips cat that isn't really his cat but lives at his house. :-)I wonder why cats are so quick to gravitate to a garden?--Randy

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  4. Skeeter girl .. I am totally in love with OJ .. now he is one garden cat that is just too cute to believe : )
    I wish I had space to dedicate to alittle rock garden like that .. all of your choices are great .. I have Sea Thrift too and it is such a pretty little plant .. some times we over look the small ones like that because they are mixed with the bigger ones.
    I must get a rain gauge too ! and yes .. make it pretty .. love the turtles girl! LOL

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  5. You found some great buys!! I like what you are doing to this area. The ice plant can be pinched, stuck in the dirt and it will grow.

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  6. Oh, what's growing up those two trees in the back of the last photo?

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  7. my absolutly favorite plant is the catplant !!! funny...have a nice weekend ! Allways I like to see your gardens !!! love Kathrin

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  8. I have a Delosperma-- it blooms all summer long. How funny it is so different!

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  9. Great pics Skeeter. Love the Penta. I was lucky enough to find one for 2.00 on the bargain table. Also a red geranium for 1.75. Love those bargains.
    Your pine straw sure is looking good. Nice sitting area too.
    Morning, Tina, Anonymous, Dawn, Jean & Nina. I hope all have a wonderful day with beautiful weather for whatever you have planned.

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  10. Hi Skeeter, I just love the way you 'do up' the garden! The rocks, the pentas, and of course, your cat~~ look great!

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  11. I'd like to go shopping with you, Skeeter--you find the best bargains! I had an ice plant a few years ago and really liked it; they do provide a nice ground cover with their purple blooms. I'm not sure why I didn't plant one this year:)

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  12. Hi Skeeter, I agree with Tina, your thrifty ways are impressive! Love the pentas and that was such a good price for wonderful long blooming butterfly attracting plants too. I was going to suggest daylilies for this soggy area, but forgot about your deer issue. We have had good luck with the voles not bothering our daylilies even though several are planting right over the varmints run. In another spot that is ravaged badly we are trying yucca with variegated leaves. The voles have eaten everything else except Angelina sedum. :-(
    Frances

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  13. How lucky you are to find such great bargins! I love oj.

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  14. All those bargin plants look like you spent a bunch. Good going and OJ is such a cutie.

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  15. OJ is a cutie. I have an orange tabby too. You can't miss him when he's out in the garden. He likes to be conspicuous.

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  16. Randy, I know of several people, my parents included, which have cats in their life which do not belong to them! I think cats are drawn to gardens for all the activity they see from afar. The flutter of butterflies for one major thing. OJ resembles our beloved Skeeter boy and I am sure that is why we are so crazy about OJ, But then again, we love all animals...

    Joy, OJ is a little sweetheart. And to think that when he first came crawling out of the woods as a stray, he was so shy and timid. Now he comes to me when I call him. He is my little garden buddy. I took a lot of pics of him that day and sent them to his real mommy and she said we have a shared cat! How funny. As you can see the rock garden is a work on progress. It is slowly coming along but am afraid I may loose some things due to this area getting too soggy during the winter and spring rain falls. I am a trail and error gardener so we will see in time...

    Darla, Oh, thanks for the tip on the Ice Plant! I will give that a try once it starts to creep outward and also once we have some moisture in that area. The plant growing up the trees are Confederate Jasmine. I have posted on it before so look on the sidebar for a link of Jasmine to see it up closer. I love the scent it gives me during the months of late May and June...

    Kathrin, I would have to say all in all my favorite plant in the garden is the Cat Plant as well. It gives me a little more then just sitting there looking pretty like most my plants. :-) He is a sweetheart and loves attention from us...

    Janet, Maybe since the Ice Plant is new to the soil, it is not acting normal. Maybe once it is established, it will bloom more for me. Darla says it can be pinched off and put into the ground to grow, I will give that a try at a later date when the conditions are better for it to root...

    Lola, I had never heard of Pentas until we moved to Georgia! My MIL is not familiar with them either. I try to have them in the garden each year as they are continuous bloomers and dont require much from me, My kind of plant, hee hee. They attract the butterflies and I love my flutterbugs. The Saint and I plan to work in the yard today. We are getting a late start as we were up late watching movies last night. Oh well, we have to be bad some times in life. Makes it fun dont ya think? :-) I picked up some stuff to change out the bunny decorations in the woods. I am going with a fun theme but not sure it will work out. I will share that another time...

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  17. Kanak, Thank you! I cannot take credit for being OJ's mommy as he really belongs to our next door neighbors but we enjoy him coming to visit us in the garden. He helps me with yard work and now I dont look like a crazy lady talking to the birds as I have a cat nearby to talk to. lol...

    Rose, Lets go shopping girl! I will show you a few secret tricks! lol, I hate shopping for clothes and the such but love shopping for the house, garden and others! I started out life with little so the bargain hunter in me came natural. I will always be a bargain hunter even if I hit the lottery! lol...

    Frances, I am a bargain hunter and will be forever. It seems to be in my blood! I found some bargain lilies this spring also. I have added many into the garden this year. I have yet to highlight them and must at some point as a late posting. Never enough time to talk about everything is there? lol. I am using the liquid fence now and that seems to be working as well as keeping the corn bucket filled with corn for the deer. Those Voles are such a pain in our life. Argggg, More so then the deer and rabbits in the garden! OJ is being fed too much as he is not on the ball with catching them! lol...

    Dawn, Bargain Hunter is my middle name! lol, You are quit the bargain hunter as well with your crafts and dolls! OJ is a sweetie and we do enjoy him in the garden. We plucked a tick off his behind yesterday! lol, the drops would have killed it in time but we did not want our little friend to have a tick on him so we plucked it. Ah, the things an animal lover finds themselves doing for the critters in their life...

    Jean, A little here and a little there make for a big grouping at a small cost! This area is coming together a little bit at a time. As I find the bargains, I add them but not hunting now as it is too hot to plant anything...

    Sweetbay, We have an iron cat on our Skeeter kittys grave. It was rusting so I painted it yellow to be like Skeeter. Now we see it from the distance and think it is OJ. lol, His yellow color blends in with the pine straw so we do not see him at times. Plus he is so quiet that he sneaks up on us a lot and startles me as I am always on the look out for snakes! I spotted a black snake in the front yard this morning when I opened the shades. The Saint rustled him off into the woods. Now wouldn’t you know I am going to work in the woods today. I will be on my guard for sure! lol

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  18. Great bargain finds Skeeter. Your new area will fill in quickly and soon the pinestraw won't be the focal point. ;) You are lucky to have access to so much of it though. I really need to find some neighbors who will share a bit with me.

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  19. Lots of great bargains Skeeter! I'm very impressed with your thrifty and wonderful plant finds.

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  20. The area turned out really nice! I love your plant choices and all the heuchera is so pretty. I love seeing before and afters, especially since nice afters!

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  21. Raquel, Funny thing with the pine straw. We have many pine trees in our woods but the needles fall into the leaves therefore too messy to put into my landscaping! Ha, so I have to purchase pine straw from the roadside as bales from Pine tree farms! I do hope it all fills in and less pine straw to spread next spring. It does get costly for me...

    Garden Girl, I do get plants at a good price but the pine straw is not so cheap. Ugh, If this all fills in for me as planned, I will need less pine straw next year...

    Catherine, I too enjoy the Before and After pictures on blogs! This way you dont have to use your imagination! Even though I am good at the imagination thing, the Saint says I live in a dream world. hee hee. I think the Coral Bells will have to be moved to another spot as this spot gets way too soggy in the winter and spring with rain fall. This is a natural rain water run off area so to be expected. I turned it into a mulch area due to the soggy conditions but was just tired of looking at plain pine straw and nothing more! Decided to give a garden in this area a try. So far so good...


    That Saint and I had a productive day in the yard today. We decided to not go to the lake as things needed to be done in the yard. I pulled weeds until my fingers are numb! But it was nice to not feel humidity on my body! The temps went low in the evening and it was so nice. I have a new display in the woods also. Will save the theme for another post...

    Everyone sleep well tonight, tomorrow it is back to work...

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